Daryl's Lass
by kinky mama
Summary: Daryl and Mac must fight to save their group. Can his Scottish lass survive the physical torment? Can he survive the emotional of seeing her go through this?
1. Chapter 1

_**Daryl's Lass**_

_**A/N: This is my first ever story, of any kind. It's a Daryl/OC with a somewhat AU. I hope you like it, and willing to review. Enjoy! :-)**_

"Jesus fucking Christ"!

Swinging around he brought the crossbow down in a jerk, a racked bolt aimed in a deadly spot at her.

Just as fast as he had aimed it, he jerked it back up, eyes wide.

"The fuck was that Mac?!" Daryl yelled. "I almost put a bolt right between your damn eyes girl!"

Mac just stared at him.

"Oh."

"My".

"God".

Mac had finally found Daryl Dixon's weakness, one she didn't think existed. It was worth the almost-head shot.

"You _are_ ticklish!"

Mac had been heading towards the woods and came upon Daryl standing there, looking out into the distance, crossbow in his hand, when he lifted both arms up and back, stretching his back out. His sides exposed. The irrational, and obviously deadly, thought came to her to sneak up and grab his sides to see if he was sensitive there.

She really hadn't realized the bow was loaded, or she probably wouldn't have done it. But his reaction to it was priceless and worth the threat.

For months she had been trying to find his one weakness, the one thing the uber badass couldn't deal with. She had made it her mission to find it. Bad singing hadn't fazed him, gross jokes, leaving her clothes all over the place – stupid, childish things. She had begun to think he might possibly be ticklish when by accident one day she tapped his exposed side with her dirk and he jumped. She hadn't been able to tell if she just surprised him, or if there was more to it.

So she had made it her destiny at that point to get to his sides again to see. Each time she was deftly prevented from her goal by smooth moves on his part to get out of the way. She had even tried tickling his feet one night. It was hot as hell out and it was one of the rare times he had fallen asleep in only his pants. No shirt, shoes or socks. Unfortunately he'd had his arms folded around himself tightly. So she opted for his feet, but had been rewarded only with a cracked eye and raised eyebrow.

Daryl glared at her, resting his crossbow, deadly-side down, on the ground.

Mac clamped her mouth shut, but couldn't help it. She started laughing, and laughing hard.

"Oh my gawd, Daryl Dixon, walker killer extraordinaire, can be brought down by a wee tickle!" she croaked out amidst her guffaws. She finally started to catch her breath, then snorted, and started all over again.

She laughed her way all along the road back to camp.

Daryl stood on the opposite side of the gathering, glaring at Mac. For her part, Mac had a big shit-eating grin for him. Rick was talking, and she was half paying attention to him and half non-verbally gloating at Daryl.

Throughout Rick's meeting discussing the state of camp's remaining supplies, Mac made a point to make direct eye contact with Daryl, a smile here, a wink there.

Carol poked her elbow into Mac's side. "MacKenzie Douglas you better be careful. That man looks ready to storm over here and flatten you. What did you do to the poor thing?"

"Who me?" Nice, big innocent look on her face, Mac batted her eyelashes at Carol.

Carol widened her eyes, "oh boy, I don't know if I should find a safe area or make popcorn and get ready for a show", she chuckled. They both looked over at Daryl, who sighed and dropped his head.

When the meeting was finally over, everyone headed back to their areas. Mac had a lookout shift coming up. She had her dirk on her but wanted her other blade.

Daryl came up along side her, knocking into her arm with his elbow.

"So I guess you think you the shit now ey". Mac looked at him sideways. He had a scowl, but if she wasn't mistaken, there was a bit of a humorous glint in his eye.

"Oh I don't think laddie, I _know_".

Daryl snorted, then gave her a small grin.

"Come on girly, go get your sword, we gotta check the perimeter again."

Mac gave him a cheeky grin and ran off to her tent to retrieve her short sword. Daryl stood and waited, smiling to himself. Little brat had finally caught him. He had to prepare for her "cat-got-the-bird" attitude that he was certain she would milk for all it was worth.

Carol walked past him, head down with that small smile of hers, heading to her tent, and Daryl could have sworn he heard a soft chuckle.

They hiked in comfortable silence, each one focused on the area around them, staying alert for anything threatening, undead or otherwise. Daryl kept his eyes open for signs of game as well. It had been a while since the group had had fresh meat. It seemed like game was getting scarce, whether it was from being hunted, falling prey to walkers or just moving on, he wasn't sure.

"Even the damn squirrels are gone" he mumbled.

"We don't find no food soon, Rick's gonna have to move camp again."

Mac nodded. "Aye. Jerky's getting low. Canned goods are thinning out as well."

Daryl stopped, chewing on his lip. He turned and studied Mac, thinking.

"We need to make another run. But we're gonna hafta go further out".

Mac nodded her agreement. The last few runs had turned up a paltry amount of supplies. They had cleaned out just about every little house and town around the area. But supplies were definitely starting to get low. They desperately needed to stock up on food, first aid supplies and if they could, clothes and blankets for the upcoming winter. Their last run they had traveled a day and a half out each way. They would need to go further. It was risky on two counts, risky for the two of them to be away from the safety of the camp for that long, and risky for the camp to be without two of their best fighters.

"You up for it woman?" Daryl said, his southern accent nice and thick.

Mac just snorted at him, "like you need to ask".

Daryl smacked her on the ass and swaggered off with a "that's my girl" thrown over his shoulder.

Mac considered throwing her dirk at the chauvinistic pig, but reconsidered.

"Off with ye you git!" she yelled back. Daryl looked back over his shoulder and winked at her. "Come on girl, get those little legs moving!"

Back at the main camp site, Glen and Maggie were sitting together, and watched as Daryl came out of the woods, striding towards camp. Mac wasn't too far behind, flipping her dirk in her hand with calculating looks at Daryl's back.

"Is it just me, or does Daryl almost have a smile on his face?" Maggie asked. Glen nodded. "Yeah, ever since we picked Mac up he seems a bit different. Still Daryl, but, well, different". Maggie agreed, "almost happy". The rest of the group had noticed as well that Daryl seemed a little more even since Mac's arrival. Still gruff and tough, but not so self conscious. He seemed more comfortable lately.

As Daryl approached he schooled his face into his usual stony look. "Wassup Short Round" and he kept walking.

Glen sighed. "Or maybe he hasn't changed at all."


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

They spent a couple of days looking over a map of the area, plotting their course and making notes of what areas they would search, weapons they would need, etc. This was going to be a risky run. They'd be gone a total of 5 days, 2 days each way traveling, and a day for solid scouting. There was no guarantee they'd find anything, but they were going to have to chance it. They had found what looked to be a decent sized town south of their current position and hoped that it would produce results.

Rick walked up just as they were finalizing their plans, making sure they had enough fuel for the truck they would take, and tightening up the last few details.

"You guys all set"? he asked. They both turned at Rick and nodded.

"Guess I don't need to tell you to be careful. I wouldn't trust a run like this to anyone but you two, but I'll admit to not being keen on the idea of being without you for this long".

"Nah we'll be careful. But we ain't got no choice in going. People gonna start getting' cranky around here soon," Daryl replied.

Rick bowed his head, hand resting as usual on the top of his holstered gun. "I agree. Just keep your eyes open out there. Stay safe."

Later that evening, as everyone was settling in for the night, Daryl was sitting on the ground, leaning against a tree, legs crossed at the ankles. He was watching Mac, who was sitting a ways away on a rock, sharpening her blades. He let himself put his inner guard down for a moment and study her. He had to admit that he had really grown attached to her. Up until recently, the only person he trusted at his back was Rick. Even when Merle was around, he wasn't always 100% confident having him at his back. But Mac, well Mac he trusted the most. The sassy Scottish woman was an enigma. She was taller than most, probably only an inch or two shorter than himself, and she was fucking ripped. She wasn't a cover model beauty, but there was something that had caught his eye. Not that he would ever admit it to anyone. She had mad fighting skills, and he was curious where she had learned to fight. Her weapons of choice were a short sword and dirk, and she was deadly. And like him, she tended to stay on her own, a little reserved. She was friendly enough to everyone, but she wasn't like Maggie who was comfortable chatting and hanging out with anyone.

He had discovered though, that she made the perfect partner for him on scouting trips and they had bonded almost instantly. She could dish out whatever crap he threw at her and send it right back at him. If he barked at her she didn't wilt under his glares. She'd just bark back. He could get pissed and yell and insult to blow off steam, and she'd just stand there and let him, with a little smirk and smart retort for him when he was done. . He found himself enjoying their bantering sessions, and she was pretty quick with retorts. One of these days he'd learn what most of the Scottish names she threw at him meant. He reckoned they weren't lady like and snorted to himself.

He continued to watch her, noticing that she had let her hair down. Normally she kept it braided back to keep it out of her face so it wouldn't interfere if she needed to fight. But tonight it was loose, falling around her back and swaying slightly as her arms made the moves on the sharpening stone. A rich, brown color, with matching eyes. He kept watching her, becoming almost entranced as she kept up the repeated movements, and thought back to when they'd first met her.

_Fourteen months earlier_

_Quiet as a snake, Daryl and Rick shimmied up the hill on their stomachs to get a view of the action below them. Shouting and the sounds of a fight had caught their attention and immediately put them on guard. Down below them was a fenced in area where two men were dragging a smaller one towards the gate. A small herd of walkers was outside the gate, becoming agitated by the noise made by the men. The bigger men each had an arm wrapped up and under the smaller man's arms, but the smaller man wasn't going quietly. A string of insults and curses was being thrown at the two of them while he kicked and tried to fight. _

_They came up on the gate and stopped. The little guy was a mess, bleeding everywhere and looking like he had taken quite a beating. One of the guards let go of an arm, which was immediately taken up by the other guard. He said something close in, but Rick and Daryl couldn't hear. The guard stepped back and pulled out a knife of some sort, it was huge. He then slashed the smaller man across the middle with it. Not enough to kill, but enough to seriously injure. They then threw the wounded man outside the gate at the walkers._

_The guard with the knife laughed loudly and yelled "here you little bitch, I'll even help delay your being lunch a little bit!" and with that, threw the knife over the gate at the injured man, just as the walkers came up to him. Both guards laughed and walked back inside._

_"Damn, that dude is toast" whispered Daryl. Bleeding like a stuck pig there was no way he'd be able to fight off those walkers with just a knife. Hell, he'd be hard pressed to win even if he hadn't been beaten and cut open._

_Rick looked at Daryl. "What do…" _

_Just as he started to ask Daryl a question, they both sat up a tiny bit as the man below them started yelling at the walkers._

_"Come on ye ugly fucking wankers, come get me you piles a shite!" The man took a fighting stance as the herd approached._

_Daryl whistled softly, "he ain't going down without a fight". _

_All of a sudden the man below went into action. Knife moving at lightning speed, the man began hacking into the walkers. He swung around in a circle, leg flying out to kick walkers back while using his knife to split the heads of the others open. Daryl had never seen anyone move that fast, or do as much damage with one knife._

_Daryl was seriously impressed. Rick's eyebrows were so high up in disbelief it was amazing they hadn't flown right off his head. The guy had taken down about half the herd already, but he was going to lose. The slash to his midsection was starting to slow him down and it was inevitable he wasn't going to win this fight. _

_Rick look back at the building the three had come from._

_"Guards are gone…"_

_Daryl stood up and racked a bolt and looked at Rick. "Well come on then, times a wastin'._

_They ran down the hill, Daryl aimed at the closest walker to the fighter and put a bolt through its head. He grabbed his hunting knife from his hip and he and Rick dived in to help._

_The injured fighter hadn't even realized he had help. Blood loss was slowing him down and he had triple vision. Taking down the walker in front of him he spun around and swiped at the walker coming up behind him, only to bring his blade down on something metallic._

_Daryl jumped back just as the guy brought his blade down on him, narrowly missing his wrist and instead catching the front of his crossbow. He immediately brought it back up and aimed at his head._

_"Aw wass wrong fucker, am I taking too long to die on ye? Eh?! Fucking bastard!" He lunged at Daryl, but faltered when his leg started to give out. Daryl side stepped him and brought his bow down on the side of his head, cold-cocking him._

_Laying on the ground, a bloody mess, the man looked at Daryl and simply said "well fuck, at least yer bonnie" before he passed out cold._

_Rick and Daryl stood there looking at the mess of a guy, they had killed the remaining walkers.  
_  
_"Shit, now what" asked Daryl. "What the fuck do we do with him. He's still breathin'"._

_They opted to leave him there for now and snuck in to take care of the inside of the building. They found the two guards inside laughing and joking and placing bets on how long it would take for their prisoner to die. Daryl and Rick dispatched them quickly, and scouted the interior, coming away with two guns and knives from the guards and what looked like a sword of some kind._

_As they headed back out they looked on in disbelief as they saw their man up on his knees trying to stand._

_"Fucking hell, he's a tough son of a bitch" Daryl muttered. They caught up to him and dragged him back to their truck, where they decided to bring him back and see what they could do with him. Even severely injured Daryl wasn't taking chances and tied his hands together._  
_Rick tried to pack his wounds a bit._

_Daryl looked at the guy's hands as he tied them and snorted. "He's got awfully girly hands. If I hadn't seen him fight like that I'd say he was a pussy"._

_There was a soft "fuck off git" and Rick looked at Daryl and grinned. Rick had taken a good look at their fighter there and figured the pussy comment wasn't too far off._


	3. Chapter 3

_"Fuck me, he's a fucking girl!"._

_Carol looked up sharply at Daryl's outburst, then raised her eyebrow at him, wondering why this was a surprise. She had known right off this was a woman when Rick and Daryl had dragged her out of the back of the truck, tied up and bleeding all over the place. Carol had quickly taken control, calling out for their first aid supplies and immediately tending to their new guest._

_They had laid her down, and Carol did a quick once over. Shaggy hair and covered from head to toe in blood, dirt and walker grime, Carol admitted she could've been mistaken for a man from a distance._

_As soon as Maggie had returned with the first aid supplies, Carol had cut the shirt open so she could clean and stitch the gash on her midsection, and that immediately showed Daryl that this was indeed a woman._

_Daryl paced, looking at their patient and away, then back. If Carol wasn't mistaken there seemed to be a bit of a blush creeping up Daryl's neck. He still had his crossbow loaded and ready, and he was agitated, like he thought the woman would jump up at any second and attack._

_Carol looked at him. "Daryl stop your pacing and go somewhere else. She's not going anywhere and certainly can't attack anyone in this condition"._

_Daryl snorted at Carol. "You aint seen what I saw. He fought off a herd a walkers like that." He stopped, and kind of threw his hand out towards her. "Well, I mean, 'she' I guess. Fuck you know what I mean"._

_He kept pacing. "I ain't takin' no chances"._

_Carol went back to work, stitching and cleaning the woman as best as she could. After tending to the wounds, she tried to bathe the rest of her as much as was possible. The woman had been out cold the whole time and was dead weight. After cleaning off her face she saw the bruising and the cut lips, and saw what looked like a fresh bruise on the side of her head._

_Carol took in all of the bruising on her face, and recognized the tell-tale signs of a beating. It brought up painful memories that she had been working hard to bury. Despite it all, Carol looked at her and could see she was pretty. And she obviously was strong and could fight well, even injured, just from what little information Rick and Daryl had provided._

_She sat back and wondered what this newcomer would do. Would she leave, would she stay. Was she an ally or enemy?_

_Two days of laying around healing and Mac was going stir crazy. The woman who was tending to her, Carol, kept demanding she stay in bed and rest. She sat up in the tent, determined to escape its confines. Just as she was trying to get her boots back on, damned Carol came in. "Shite, busted", she muttered. Carol just gave her a small smile and helped her. "You're as bad a patient as Daryl" she said softly, and chuckled._

_Mac looked at her, "I'm no one for lying about, it drives me daft"._

_Carol sat back on her heels and looked at her. "What's your name hon? And, you're Scottish right?"_

_Mac nodded. "Aye, I'm from Inverness." Carol noted that she seemed very reserved, wary. She wasn't sure if there was a reason for it or it was just due to her current situation. "MacKenzie Douglas, but most call me Mac"._

_Carol smiled warmly at her and placed her hand on her leg. "Well it's nice to meet you MacKenzie Douglas. What do you say we get you out of this tent and get some fresh air?"_

_Daryl was just coming back into camp for a quick bite of food before heading back out to continue a perimeter sweep when he saw Carol helping their newcomer out of the tent._

_Stiff and wincing, she was still a mess. Her face had multiple bruises of varying colors and he could see cuts on her hands. They had made sure none of those cuts were from walkers, they all seemed to have been courtesy of the two guys who had beaten her._

_Rick hadn't been able to get past Carol to interrogate the woman, but now that she was out of the blasted tend, Daryl would make sure it happened quickly. He wanted to know who she was, and what the whole mess with the guards had been about._

_As Daryl passed by, his crossbow slung across his back, he made direct eye contact with the woman, a silent challenge. Mac stared at him right back, and didn't blink as he kept going, never stopping or even slowing down in the process._

_Carol put her arm through Mac's. "That ray of sunshine is Daryl. He's one of the two men who saved you and brought you in"._

_Mac snorted. "He's the fucking wanker who cold-cocked me with that crossbow." But Mac couldn't help but notice he had amazing blue eyes._

**A/N: So Daryl has discovered his prisoner is a woman, not a man. Coming up, a dangerous trip to town.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Present Time**

Daryl continued to watch Mac as she finished up her blades. He smiled to himself as he remembered those first days with her.  
Mac got up and noticing Daryl sitting there, came over and sat in front of him.

"What are ye smiling at" she asked.

Daryl shrugged, but still had a smile. "Was just thinkin' back to when you first showed up here. You were a mess and a bit of a crank".

"Yeah well you were a right wee shit yourself."

Daryl snorted. He had been. He was hard as hell on her. He didn't trust her one bit, and had been one of the ones to interrogate her, along with Rick. They had done the whole good cop, bad cop routine on her. And obviously Daryl had not opted for the good cop role. They had never really been able to get details out of her as to why she had been held, and why they had beaten her and thrown her to the walkers. She had always been vague. But something had tugged at him about her. And rather than admit to himself any of the possible reasons why, he worked at making her life hell for that first month.

But Rick had eventually decided to trust her, and as it turned out, she was a hell of a fighter and had proved herself to the group numerous times. Daryl of course took longer to give her his trust, but she had definitely earned it.

He remembered back to a day when they had been out looking for game. He had almost stepped on a rattlesnake who had heard them coming and coiled up. Daryl had never even heard the damn thing. Mac had grabbed him at the last second and yanked backward. Unfortunately they were on a ledge, and it had rained recently, making it muddy. Daryl slipped and went down, smacking his head on a rock and he rolled down the side of the hill. He had landed in a mud puddle with walkers in it. Mac had scrambled down as fast as she could to land in front of him in time to ward off the walkers. She'd saved his life that day.

Daryl was playing with a piece of grass, and he looked up at her, head cocked. "You ever gonna tell me what happened that day?"

Mac abruptly stood up and brushed her pants off. "Naw, nothing to tell." She grabbed her blades and headed back to their tent.

Daryl watched her walk off, knowing that there was something more to the story. He wasn't sure why he was so intent on finding it out. He usually didn't give a rat's ass about people's personal problems. But he found himself looking at Mac a little differently. Whatever it was, it was too much for her to talk about it.

It was obvious to the group that Mac and Daryl were a team. And not just in the sense that they worked together. They had a synergy and a bond that no one else had. It was almost as if they knew what the other was thinking and going to do when it came to defending the camp, scouting, or even raiding. They were partners in the truest sense. They did just about everything together, yet it wasn't a sexual or romantic partnership, not like Glen and Maggie. They shared sleeping quarters, but no one in the group ever even considered that anything other than sleep was going on. It had turned into an unbreakable bond.

Daryl stared down at the piece of grass he had been playing with. He was having to admit that he wanted to know more about what was going on behind those deep brown eyes of hers. He'd never cared about any of that shit before. The few women he'd been with had mainly been fuck partners. He wasn't gonna get all sappy and puppy dog-eyed at no woman, hell no. He'd wanted to scratch his itch and move on.  
He sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. He better get some sleep, they left at dawn for this run.

They'd spent two days in the truck. Their asses were sore, but they had been able to pass the time with their bantering and teasing. They hadn't seen much, but then according to their map, they hadn't really expected to. They were almost to their target area, and with luck on their side they might be able to find something. Mac was hoping to at least find somewhere secure enough to sleep. Sleeping in the truck was anything but comfortable. And Daryl tended to snore.

"I do not snore girl". His hand at the top of the wheel, the other hanging out the truck window, he gave her a sideways look.

"Oh aye you do my bonnie lad." Mac nodded as she said this, trying not to laugh. Truth be told, it wasn't that loud and kinda cute. But she wouldn't tell him that. Because then he might catch on that rather than sleeping, she'd been watching him sleep, his face relaxed and peaceful in a time of turmoil and tragedy. She wished she had an excuse to just gaze into his blue eyes. Eyes that could go from cranky, to teasing to deadly in an instant.

"Pfft. I do not. Besides, you farted in your sleep. And it smelled." Daryl threw this back at Mac like it was the insult to end all insults. Mac just laughed at him, leaned over and ruffled his hair. "I always take credit for my farts love". Daryl snorted at that, and then laughed.

Mac looked at him a few minutes later when they were only a few miles from their target. "Did you know…" she started, "that the Scots and Irish were the ones to populate the south, and who eventually became the rednecks you yanks all know and love?"

Daryl looked at her with a "what-the-fuck" look on his face.

"Aye". She looked pleased with herself. "They fled their homeland to escape the religious persecution. The Irish stayed along the coast, but the Scots made their way down to the south and eventually became what's referred to as the rednecks. "

She leaned over and squeezed his leg."So you my dear boy, are probably just as Scottish as meself".

"Hmmff". Daryl looked at her. That was an interesting tidbit there for sure, but he felt like his leg was on fire from where she grabbed him. He wished she'd do it again to be perfectly damn honest.

"So why are you here, in good ole America?" he asked her. "Were you living here before all hell broke loose?"

"Nay. I was over here on business, this fucking plague broke out and that was that. And here I still am".

"You miss it?"

"I try no to think about it."

Daryl loved it when she said words like 'about'. They came out more like 'aboot'. Not that he was admittin' shit.

At last they came up to their target town. They were on the outskirts of it and decided to scan the outlying area first. They spent half the day scouting, and not finding much of anything. A couple of blankets here and there, a can of expired green beans. They decided to call this part a failure and head into the main section. Out of the corner of his eye Daryl spotted a cabin tucked back in some trees. He pulled the truck off and headed towards it.

"Lets try this one before we head into town" he said.

They parked the truck and left the keys in the ignition. Daryl locked in a bolt and hoisted the cross bow up, ready for anything. They moved into the house and cleared the rooms. They were dusty, no signs of life. And worse, no signs of supplies

"Dammit" Mac breathed. She moved into another room.

Daryl went through the kitchen and started rifling through the cupboards when he heard Mac yell out.

"JESUSFUCKINGCHRISTMOTHERFUCKINGSHIT!".

Daryl ran into the room to see Mac up on a chair both her sword and dirk out and looking pale.

"What the fuck Mac, what's wrong?" Daryl asked, worried as hell.

"SHIT THERE IT IS AGAIN FUCK FUCK FUCK!" If she could have climbed any higher onto the chair she would have.

Daryl spun around, thinking a walker was in with them and ready to put a bolt through its head when he noticed she was staring at the ground and shaking.

"What the fucking shit is that?!"

Daryl looked down and saw what had Mac freaked. Then looked back at her, absolutely amazed.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" He busted out laughing. He laughed long and hard, doubling over when his gut started to cramp.  
He managed to get himself upright again, wiping tears from his eyes.

"That my big, bad zombie killer, is a palmetto bug". He stepped on it, making a loud, disgusting crunching sound.

He laughed again, thinking back to her tickle attack at the woods. "So my 'wee lass', yer afraid of a little bug?" He laughed at her thunderous gaze.

"Payback's a bitch, ain't she little girl?" Laughing hard again Daryl hefted his crossbow up onto his shoulder and strolled out.

Mac glared at his retreating back and threw her dirk into the door frame.

She climbed down, skirting the bug remains. "Little bug my arse" she grumbled as she retrieved her blade.

She was looking at some of the pictures on the wall, of a time long past, when he heard Daryl whoop. He had gone downstairs to take a better look at it.

"Jackpot baby!" he yelled.

Mac made her way down the stairs into a basement, and noticed a trap door in the floor was open. She stuck her head down and saw Daryl standing there, arms wide out from his side, chest puffed out. He turned in a circle with a big grin.

"Jaaaack pot".

**A/N: So it seems Daryl has stumbled upon something interesting, what could it be? Coming next, the discovery that could save their camp, and drunken moment leads to something more.  
**


	5. Chapter 5

Mac made her way down and stared, absolutely amazed. " What is this place?" she asked.

Daryl put his arms down, still turning in a circle. "I'm guessing who ever lived here was one of those doomsday nuts. Wonder why he didn't actually use it".

The two of them stood in the middle of a bunker, filled floor to ceiling with food, blankets, various radios, you name it, it was here.

All of a sudden Daryl grabbed her up in a bear hug and swung her around before dropping her back down.

"Goddamn, what a fucking find. This will last us all winter and probably well into spring".

Mac was reeling. From finding this gold mine sure, but also that hug. My god his arms around her felt good. And a smell that was all Daryl. She wished he'd do it again.

As Daryl began taking a quick stock of their booty, her eyes lit up when she spotted a shelf off to the side.

"Fuck yeah!" she cried. Daryl turned to look at her, this time she had the big grin.

She turned around and handed him a bottle of 26 year old Glen Livet single malt Scotch.

"Time to learn about your ancestors love" she said with a gleam in her eye.

Mac had been stoked when she saw the shelf with high end malts on them. Talisker, Oban, Glen Livet and the likes.

An hour later they had polished off the Glen Livet, a bottle of the Oban and had moved on to the Talisker. Daryl was leaning up against the wall, knees pulled up, bottle hanging out of his hand and laughing so hard he was leaning over to the side and wheezing.

"Hahaha oh my god girl you looked so damn funny up on that chair hahahaha…oh my god that was classic".

"That thing was fucking huge, that wasn't a bug it was like, like a dinosaur relic or something." Mac hiccupped.

Daryl had moved on from wheezing to dry laughing, making no noise as he tried to suck air into his lungs.

Daryl managed to get himself upright only to careen over to the other side falling flat on his face.

"Hahahahaoops". Getting himself back up and steady he gazed at Mac.

"My little lassie, afraid of a wee bug" he mimicked, in a piss poor imitation of her accent.

Mac tried to look offended, but just ended up looking like a dork. "Yeah well, well, yeah. " Then she pointed at him, "well a lees I'm no tick – tick-…ticklish." She nodded her head once as if she had won the argument. Although she couldn't remember what the argument was.

Daryl narrowed his gaze at her. "Damn, tha sounds hiccup like a challenge hiccup to me".

Daryl got up to his knees and knee-walked over to her. Mac's eyes widened as she watched him drunkenly move towards her, a smirk on his face.

"Whaah you doin' Daryl".

Daryl just kept coming at her, he got right in front of her then grabbed her and pushed her back flat on the ground. He straddled her and grabbed both her arms in one of his hands and held them over head.

He gave her a predatory gaze, held his other hand up in front of her with his fingers clawed, then yelled –"TICKLETORTURE!" And he promptly attacked her sides and armpits in a fierce tickle attack.

Mac sucked in her breath and then half screamed and half laughed, squirming like hell under him to get away.

"AHAHA you liar, you are ticklish too!" Daryl kept up his attack while Mac squealed and laughed and tried to get away.

"Uncle! Uncle!" She cried.

Daryl paused in his assault. "Do you surrender?"

"Aye!" she laughed out, "I surrender".

"Aw man, I was hoping you'd resist my evil ways, forcing me to continue your torture" he laughed. He fell off of her and flopped down on the floor next to her, still giggling like a school kid.

As they both started to calm down, still flat on their backs, they turned their heads and looked at each other. Mac realized she had her chance to just stare into his eyes, eyes that were wide open and full of humor.

"You have the most beautiful eyes" she said quietly.

Daryl held his hand up and ran a finger down her cheek. He'd always wanted an excuse to do this, and being drunk was the perfect one. He felt amazingly sober at the moment though and hyper-aware of her gaze, but figured if she shied away from him, he could blame the booze.

Mac closed her eyes, savoring the feel of his hand. He ran two fingers along her jaw, then gently swept his thumb over her lower lip. She opened her eyes to see him gazing intently into hers.

"I've always wanted to do that" he said softly. "Always wondered what you would taste like if I could kiss you".

Mac looked at him and felt her heartbeat run even faster. Daryl almost looked like he realized what he just said, a blush creeping around his ears. He looked down, becoming shy.

Mac decided to put herself out on a ledge. She took a hold of his hand, bringing his fingers to her mouth. She placed a small kiss to his fingertips.

Daryl rolled back over next to her and got up on his elbow. He caressed her face like she was made of the finest china. Mac could hardly breath, afraid he would stop. He looked hesitant, afraid she wasn't wanting the same thing as himself. She looked into his eyes, could see his indecision. She ran her hands up his chest, relishing the feel of his hardness under his shirt.

Daryl sighed at the feel of her hands, and leaned in. He kissed her gently, savoring the feel of her lips on his. God she tasted good, just as he imagined. He deepened the kiss and Mac moaned under him. She ran her hands up, cupping his face, brushing her fingers through his stubble. He tasted like Scotch, like sin.

Daryl pulled back a little, looking at Mac. It had crossed his mine they were both drunk, and really didn't want to mess this up.

"Will you still respect me in the mornin'?" he joked. Mac laughed, "Hell yes. I'm sober enough to know what I'm doing".

Daryl got up pulling Mac with him and tugged her over to a small bed that was in the bunker. He ran his hand up the back of her head, cupping her neck and leaned in for another kiss. He nipped her bottom lip, causing her to part them and he took advantage, sliding his tongue in. He moaned into her mouth, enjoying the taste and warmth of her. He finally admitted to himself that he had been wanting to do this with her for months now. He broke off and kissed softly on her jaw, working his way down her neck. He hit her magical spot behind her ear, then sucked on her earlobe, and Mac groaned heavily. She ran her hands up his back, relishing the feel of the hard muscles, then sliding them around to his chest. Every part of his body was hard, toned, yet he was kissing her so softly. He was an enigma, a gruff hunter who usually had a scowl on his face and wasn't afraid to do the dirty work, her badass, yet so incredibly gentle as he made love to her.

Mac began to undo the buttons on his shirt, then swept her hands across his bare skin. She ran her hands up over his collarbone, then down over his nipples. Daryl sucked in his breath and moved against her. Fuck her hands felt good on him. He tugged her shirt up and over her head then reached around to undo the clasp on her bra. He laid her down on the bed and began kissing her again, starting at her throat and down between her breasts, then finally taking a nipple into his mouth and sucking. Mac arched her back up into him, her hands in his hair and sighed his name. She reached a hand down between them and felt his erection and rubbed him through his pants. He hissed and bit down on her breast gently. He sat up and undid her pants, pulling them down her legs. He stared at her for a moment, naked and wet for him. Her eyes were on him and watched as he slowly undid his belt, then his pants and pulled his cock free. He leaned back over her, taking her hands in one of his and pulling them up over her head. He settled in between her legs and began kissing her slowly again, using his free hand to caress her breast.

"God damn you feel good" he whispered to her. Mac smiled at him, her eyes locked onto his, as he slid into her. They both groaned, her wet heat gladly taking in his thick length. He rocked into her, taking his time. He let her hands go to slide down her leg, pulling it up slightly. Mac brought her hands down to cradle his head as he moved inside her. Daryl began to quicken the pace and leaned down to take her nipple into his mouth again. Mac groaned again out loud and arched into him. Daryl began to move even faster in her and looked up into her eyes. Mac was close, and she had a feeling he was too. She reached down to grab his ass and push into him, and at the same time Daryl grabbed her breast.

Mac whispered "Come to me Daryl", and with that he closed his eyes as he pounded into her and they both reached their peaks at the same time.

Daryl was shaking, whether from the exertion or emotional toll, he wasn't sure. He rolled off of Mac, but held onto her and rolled her into him. He wrangled the blanket from the bed and wrapped them both in it. Mac curled into Daryl's chest and sighed. My god he felt good, she thought to herself. Daryl had both his arms wrapped around her, almost protectively. After his breathing returned to normal, he bent his head down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

"Thank you" he said softly.

Mac smiled up at him, her warm eyes gazing into his. "It was beautiful" she whispered, "thank you".

They lay there for a few minutes, just enjoying the feel of themselves next to each other. Daryl's mind was moving a million miles a second, trying to process all the weird, unknown feelings coursing through him. He'd never felt such a close bond to anyone before, not to this extent. Hell he'd never even felt this close to Merle. And he couldn't help but think that this woman, one who fought next to him every day, saw his bad side, had allowed this dirt covered redneck this close to her. Part of him felt elated, part of him despaired, thinking he wasn't anywhere close to being good enough for her.

Mac wiggled into Daryl at that moment, which instantly re-awoke his parts down south.

"Fuckin' insatiable hellcat are ya" he chuckled. Mac laughed, then poked him in the belly. "My arm's falling asleep". He hugged her harder, kissed her forehead and said, "we better get moving".

"Damn" she sighed. She could stay here all day with Daryl wrapped around her and be very content.

Daryl laughed as he got up and put his pants back on. "Quit'cha lollygaggin woman and get to work!". Mac threw her boot at him.

**A/N: So Daryl and Mac have finally brought that last wall down and realized their feelings for each other mutual. Coming up next, a good situation turns deadly, and Daryl will be forced to witness something that will rip his heart out.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Warning, sexual violence**

For the next few hours they unloaded supplies from the bunker and brought them upstairs. Daryl looked at what they had brought up so far and shook his head. They were going to have to work something else out, there was too much in the bunker to get in the truck. Daryl wanted to find a way to get it all back in one trip, otherwise they risked losing the remaining goods to other scouts if they made more than one trip.

"I'm thinkin' we take a ride into town, see if we can find us a box truck or big van or somethin' so that we can haul all of this at once."

Mac had just come up the stairs from the bunker with an armload. "Ye got it boss" she said, dumping the containers.

They decided to take a break and run into town to scout for a larger vehicle. It only took them a few minutes, but Mac couldn't help but steal glances out of the side of her eyes. Daryl was driving, one hand on the wheel, chewing on the thumb of his other. He seemed lost in thought, but to her surprise, he didn't seem agitated or uneasy about what had happened in the bunker. She was worried about the possible tension in their relationship that seemed to always pop up when good friends went beyond friendship. Daryl suddenly stopped the truck, leaned over and planted a firm kiss on her lips, then smiled at her. Then put the truck back into gear and took off again.

"Okay then" she chuckled to herself, thinking he had read her mind.

They drove around looking for a large truck, one that was preferably gassed up and still had its keys. They saw one in the distance and headed towards it. It was one of those large moving trucks, the kind you could rent for the day for a local move.

"Perfect!" Mac cried. They pulled up and Mac popped into the cab while Daryl made sure the area was clear. He took out a couple of walkers nearby, letting loose a bolt into each one. Mac popped back out, "Keys are in the ignition, but the tanks empty."

Daryl looked around, "maybe we can siphon from one of these other cars and fill it up. I hate to leave it, it should hold just about everything".  
They scouted around the town and found a hardware store. They took care of the walker inside and found some tubing and a bucket, but they needed a funnel in order to get the gas into the truck.

"Daryl, I'm going to check around in the back" Mac said.

"Got it."

Daryl kept searching the shelves when suddenly there was the sound of things crashing on the floor and a grunted "Fuck!" It sounded like Mac had knocked something over.

"You okay back there?"

"Mac?"

Instantly on guard Daryl made sure the crossbow was loaded and raised it up and began to work his way towards the back of the store. There was what looked like a large storeroom with the door slightly ajar. The hair on the back of Daryl's neck was raised and all of his internal alarms were going off.

He pushed the door open with his bow and stepped in quickly to clear the room. Before he had a chance he was hit upside the head with something hard, dropping him down to the floor. Before he could regain his footing and get his bow back up someone kicked it out of his hands and two pairs of hands jerked him back up roughly, wrenching his arms behind him.

"Mother fucker what the fuck you doin!" He growled. He was yanked around and on the other side of the room was Mac, being held the same way by a sleezy looking man with a large knife to her throat. She was bleeding from her forehead and by the look in her eyes was spitting mad. Her dirk and sword had been taken and were now being held by the man who stood off to the side, looking at Daryl.

"Who the fuck are you, you son of a bitch!" Daryl spat.

"Tut, tut, such language" said the mystery man. Tall, light brown hair, bit of a sophisticated look in his eye. He stood with his arms clasped behind his back, Mac's blades dangling from his fingers.

"Perhaps you could tell me who _you_ are, and what group you're with", he said. He oozed psychotic charm from every pore. Daryl instantly had the sense this man was dangerous, very dangerous.

"I ain't tellin' you shit" Daryl growled.

Mr. Charming laid the blades down on the table and walked closer to Daryl.

"Well as the old cliché goes, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Who are you, and where is your group".

"And as I said before ya dumb fucker, I ain't telling you shit". Daryl was pissed as hell.

Mr. Charming tilted his head slightly and suddenly one of the men backhanded Mac, splitting her lip open.

"You goddamn mother fucking shit!" Daryl yelled, trying to fight his way away from his captors. He and Mac both had two men holding them, and three others standing close by.

Mr. Charming tilted his again, and again Mac was backhanded, this time the force throwing her head back so hard it came forward on the rebound and into the knife's edge, drawing more blood.

Daryl roared at him, "allright! Alright you fucking asshole! I'll tell you! Just stop hitting her!"

Mac tried to make noise at him and shake her head, telling him not to but was threatened with another hit.

"We're on our own, ok? We don't have no group. They're all dead". Daryl hung his head.

Mr. Charming looked at him, "now see, I find that hard to believe. I saw you two trying to get that big box truck running. What do two people need with such a big truck?"

"I ain't give a rats fuck what you believe dickhead" Daryl spat. He was so pissed he was ready to rip everyone limb from limb and feed them to the walkers piece by piece.

The man next to Daryl rammed the butt of his rifle into Daryl's gut, then smacked him across the face with it.

"You watch your mouth when you're talking to the Governor you white trash piece of shit" the man said.

Daryl looked at the man who hit him, the back to this Governor, then answered by spitting a mouthful of blood at the man's feet.

"I told ya, we're on our own. We was planning on sleeping in the truck" Daryl said dangerously.

The Governor sighed, then turned on his heel and looked at Mac, then his men.

"Perhaps, perhaps not. I would not, however, be a good leader if I took chances. Can't risk the chance of you having a larger group coming to take what's ours now, can we?"

"Martinez," he said to the man who had struck Mac, "find out what they know. Use whatever means necessary". And with that the Governor strolled out of the room leaving the rest of them behind.

Daryl looked at Mac, who was definitely in pain. He tried to give her strength with his eyes, but he knew they were in dire straits.

Martinez looked from Daryl to Mac and back. "Well I'm guessin' these two are lovebirds. Maybe we're asking the wrong person our questions".

With that he landed a fierce punch to Daryl's face that rattled his teeth. Blood began to pour from his nose. Martinez looked at Mac.  
"Where's your group?"

"Like he said, we have no group. We're the last of them" she rasped out.

Martinez hit Daryl again.

"Lying bitch! Who. Are. You. With?!" he spat at her and then slapped her.

"Go fuck yer self you bloody fucker!" she snarled.

Martinez looked at one of the men. A lanky, dirty guy who seriously gave Mac the creeps. "Harmon, why don't you have some fun then"  
Martinez told the leering man.

Harmon's eyes lit up. Daryl's heart stopped beating and dropped into the pit of his stomach as he guessed what Harmon was about to do.

"You fucking son of a bitch don't you fucking dare!" he yelled. Martinez punched him again, then took his bandana out of his pocket and used it to gag Daryl. "Enjoy the show" he said, then left. "Let me know when you're done" he tossed over his shoulder. Daryl was forced down to his knees, his arms still wrenched behind him.

Mac's eyes had gone wide and somewhat glazed. Her fear was so intense she thought she was going to pass out. She wished she would so she wouldn't have to endure this. Not in front of Daryl, god please not in front of Daryl. Harmon was in front of her and before she knew it he took her own knife and used it to cut her shirt down the middle, and then sliced her bra.

"Ooh boys, she's got fine tits eh?" he said. Mac closed her eyes, trying not to give this pig the satisfaction of seeing her ultimate terror in her eyes, and tried not to whimper when he roughly grabbed her and fondled her.

"What you say we all take a turn" he laughed out. Mac could hear Daryl yelling through his gag and could hear him frantically trying to fight free. She couldn't bring herself to look at him. She tried to find a happy place in her mind to escape what was happening, but just couldn't reach it. All she could hear was Daryl sobbing, smell the fetid breath of the pig touching her, and feel the shame and terror. Suddenly Harmon grabbed her away from the men holding her and threw up again the table, bending her over it. And then he was on her.

Daryl was coming out of his mind. He couldn't seem to loosen the grip the two guys had on him. All he could see was Mac, his Mac, being abused and he was seeing red. He had never felt so frantic, so helpless and so sick to his stomach in his lifetime. Not even when his Daddy beat the shit out of him and let his friends in on it. Suddenly the desk move when the force of them hitting the desk pushed into his captors and knocked one of them in the leg. He pulled his leg up in pain and Daryl realized he had his opening.

Daryl yanked to his side and in doing that caused his other captor to go off balance and then into the one who had his leg up. They all toppled and Daryl used this to jump up and out of their grip. He whipped around and punched for all he was worth into the captor closest to him. He pulled the knife out of the belt on the other and slit his throat. The two guys who had been holding Mac before Harmon took her jumped into the fray. One tried to grab Daryl from behind but Daryl leaned back into him then used the desk to kick up and over. It was far from graceful, but it did what he intended. He came down on top of the guy just as the other came down on top of him. Daryl got the knife up just in time for the man to impale himself. He slid the knife back out and rolled and stabbed the other man.

He stood up and set his sights on Harmon.

Harmon had his arm around Mac's throat, squeezing, while a knife was at her side.

Daryl leveled a dangerous gaze on him and went still. He was like a coiled rattler, waiting to lash out with a deadly strike.

"Let her go, now" he said, his gaze predatory and murderous. He started to circle Harmon slowly.

"Like hell hick, maybe I'll just take her with me" sneered Harmon. "Stay back asshole!" he yelled, jabbing the knife into Mac's side when he saw Daryl inch closer.

Daryl stopped moving, but was still on the balls of his feet, his knife ready. He caught Mac's gaze, giving her a silent signal. She didn't respond so he hoped like hell she caught it.

"Let her go and I just may let you walk out of here". Daryl was looking for any opening, even the smallest hole, that could give him a chance to attack Harmon. Harmon was trying to work his way over to the door when someone yelled from the outside.

"Harmon if you're done fuckin' her get your ass out here so we can head out!"

Daryl got his chance. At the yell from outside Harmon had turned his head to yell back and in the same instant Mac pulled her head down and to the side. In the split second it took her to do that Daryl had flipped the knife so he had it by the blade and had it thrown straight into Harmon's eye. Harmon slid down, hit so fast he never even got a chance to yell. Mac stepped away from him, watching him hit the floor, then reached down and pulled the knife from his eye, knelt on top of him and began slashing at Harmon. By the time she was done, he had been decapitated and there was certainly no fear of reanimation. She was covered in blood, both her own and Harmon's.

Daryl was silent. He felt like his heart had been ripped out. He looked at Mac, he didn't know what to do. Mac sat there a little too silently. Daryl pulled his shirt off and gently moved to her, sliding his shirt over her, worked her pants back on,covering her and trying to restore even the smallest bit of dignity for her. God damn, he didn't know what to do, hold her and try to comfort her? Stay away and not touch her? Shit she was too quiet. He took her hands gently, not saying anything.

"Mac, can you walk? We need to get out of here before the others come back". Mac didn't look at Daryl, just nodded silently. He stood up, still holding her hand. He needed that connection. He was scared, really scared. He felt so fucking helpless right now on how to help her.  
He recovered his crossbow, Mac's blades and the other weapons the enemy had and crept out of the back room. They crawled up to a window where Daryl noticed the Governor and the rest of his men standing near a tan truck and a black Hummer. Looking around Daryl saw he could slide out a side window that was broken and hopefully hightail it out of here.

He managed to get them out of the hardware store un-noticed and two streets away before the Governor decided to go back to the hardware store to see what the hold up was with his men and the prisoners. Daryl had to make a decision. Getting back to the truck would just draw attention to them, and he doubted he could outrun the hummer and other truck. It wouldn't take long to use up the fuel they had left. Staying on foot meant trying to hide somewhere safe long enough for the Governor to give up searching and leave. Neither option was even remotely good in his mind.

The only thing he could think of was to hike back to the house with the bunker and hope they weren't discovered. He looked at Mac, trying to judge her state of mind. She seemed alert, if silent.

"Do you think you're up to making it back to that house on foot? I don't want to risk the noise of the truck." Mac looked at Daryl and nodded. Daryl held her gaze a moment and it seemed as if something moved through her eyes. She stood up straight, ran her hands through her hair and said, "Lets go". Daryl squeezed her hand then turned back to the window.

It was tough going, trying to move silently through the streets into the rural area, both of them badly beaten. They had managed to avoid the Governor's men, but on two occasions came incredibly close to being caught again. When night fell they finally had the advantage of the darkness. It took a few hours but they finally found their way back to the house with the bunker. After making sure it was still clear of unfriendlies, Daryl led Mac back down to the bunker. He did his best to cover the trap door that had led down, hoping that if the Governor's men did find the house, that perhaps they wouldn't see the trapdoor.

Once inside he sat Mac down on the little bed and wrapped the blanket around her.

"Rest for a minute, I'm going to go through the medical supplies in here and try to patch you up, ok?" Daryl held her hands, squeezing them gently, trying to reassure her. Mac looked at him and said "sure thing." She was emotionally distant, and Daryl was terrified of doing the wrong thing. What the fuck should he do? Did someone who suffered an atrocity like this want to be held? Reassured that everything was ok? Should he keep his distance due to being part of the offending gender? If he hugged the hell out of her like he wanted to do, would he drive her even further away into her nightmare? His emotions were in such turmoil, he felt he would explode. Pure, unadulterated rage at what these fuckers had done to her was at the forefront, overwhelming despair right behind it. He wanted nothing more than to find the rest of this group and slaughter every single one of them. He didn't know whether to scream out in his rage or break down into sobs for what they had put her through. Instead, he took a deep calming breath and pulled out some first aid and set to work trying to help the woman he was beginning to realize he loved.

**A/N: So this chapter was really tough to write, but as you'll see in the next one, there is a connection to Mac's past. I re-wrote this a couple of times. I'd love to hear reviews if you have time!**

**Coming up next: Mac becomes emotionally undone. Can Daryl hold on to his lass?**


	7. Chapter 7

Mac sat quietly as Daryl tended to her wounds. She had a split lip, several cuts and bruises to her face, a shallow, yet painful cut on her throat, and some puncture wounds on her side. She was trying to stay in her internal emotional void. Trying desperately not to replay the scenes of not only this attack, but the one a year ago. She felt like she was slipping into a black hole. She felt sick to her stomach, dizzy. She tried to focus on Daryl, sitting on his knees in front of her gently trying to clean her up. She could see the turmoil in his eyes. See the utter rage. He wasn't sure how to handle her, hesitant in his touch. Her terror had moved on to intense shame that she had been put in this position not once, but twice. She was supposed to be strong, tough. How could she have allowed herself to get caught like this again? What the hell was wrong with her? My god, she was supposed to be Daryl's partner, the one who watched his back. He depended on her for that, expected it. How the fuck could she protect him when she couldn't even protect herself? She was completely useless to him, a weakness he couldn't afford to have. How could he ever trust her to have his back again?

Mac started getting dizzier and then started shaking. She felt lightheaded as the shaking got worse. It had started in her hands and then moved to her whole body.

Daryl was applying some antiseptic when he noticed Mac's hands beginning to shake, and realized her eyes had completely glazed over. She started sucking in breaths, almost like she was starting to hyperventilate. Daryl quickly set the first aid down and grabbed Mac, afraid she was going into shock.

"Mac! Mac honey, talk to me! Stay with me girl, you're ok. You're safe now"

Mac shrugged Daryl off of her and leapt up, pacing the bunker like a caged lion. "Don't touch me!"

Daryl stepped back, hands up in front of him. "I won't Mac, I won't. I just want to help. Tell me what I can do. Please sweetheart…"

All Mac could do was pace, she kept running her hands through her hair and pulling on it like she was trying to yank it out.

She was saying something over and over again, but Daryl couldn't make it out. He risked moving closer to her, completely unsure of himself and of her.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry" she was whispering to herself, almost inaudibly. Daryl tried to catch her eye.

"Mac, what are you sorry about, talk to me girl, it's ok. Please!"

Mac just kept pacing, pulling on her hair.

"I'm so sorry, Daryl, I'm so sorry". Daryl moved over to her and held her by the shoulders. Mac stopped and looked up, trying to say something, and the tears came pouring out. "Oh my god I'm so sorry Daryl" she sobbed.

Daryl's gut wrenched at the sight of her. "My god Mac why are you sorry, you..you..Jesus fucking Christ this wasn't your fault!"

"I'm no longer strong, I'm weak. I let this happen again. AGAIN! How can ye ever trust your back to me after this? And now look at me, crying like some weak little girl, a weak little girl who let herself get caught and…and..and –fucking caught! TWICE! Ye cannae ever trust me to have your back after this!" Mac broke down into wracking sobs and fell down to her knees.

Daryl felt his head swimming. He grabbed Mac into a bear hug and held onto her for all he was worth. He felt the tears let loose as he cried with her. After everything she had been through she had added the guilt of believing she was no longer strong enough for him to want her. He now understood why she had never wanted to talk about that time when he and Rick found her. He held onto her and rocked her, trying to convey all of his feelings to her through his hold, knowing that words would be useless at this moment.

When he felt her start to slow in her sobs, he pulled back far enough to look into her eyes. She kept them downcast, she couldn't bring herself to look at him. Daryl roughly wiped the back of his arm across his eyes, then gently wiped her tears with his thumbs before tilting her head up to him.

"Mac, look at me girl. I'm going to tell you somethings. I know you're not goin' to want to hear 'em, or probably believe 'em, but I swear on everything I hold dear that they're true. You don't have to say anything', just listen. There's no fucking way, first off, that this, or the time before were in anyway your fault. I wish, I..I..shit, I wish I had something smart to say to convince you of that. And no fucking way are you weak, this didn't happen because you was weak, and you ain't weak because of it. I have never trusted anyone to be as close to me as you are. Fuck, I never trusted anyone to know about some of the things about me that you know, let alone watch my back. Hell I never trusted Rick as much as I trust you. And that will .Change. EVER. I trusted you then, I trust you now girl. Ain't never gonna change."  
A single tear spilled over Mac's cheek, and she nodded slightly. Daryl enveloped her in a hug again and just held her. "You just went through hell, I think you earned the fucking right for a good cry" he whispered. "And when I find that bastard I will gut him and string him up for everyone to see".

Daryl released Mac long enough to dig out of can of food. He forced her to eat, and gave her a chaser of aspirin and scotch, hoping it would help her sleep. He found a shirt in one of the containers and put it on, then wrapped Mac up in the blanket nice and tight and laid down next to her on the outside of it. He wanted nothing than to hold her all night and make her feel safe.

"Lets try to get some sleep. We'll need our energy". It took several hours for Mac to finally sleep, and Daryl could tell from her movements she was probably re-visiting her hellish ordeal. He kept trying to talk to her through her sleep, hoping to move her on into a different dream.

When Mac awoke, she was wrapped up tight. Daryl was behind her with his arm around her protectively. She didn't feel much better than she did last night. In some ways she felt worse. Her face felt awful, and the slightest movement pulled on her lip. She could feel her tears start up again, and she silently berated herself for the sign of weakness. Trying not to think about the events of the day before of course only brought them front and center to her brain. Her tears came steadily, and she could feel herself shaking again. Daryl squeezed her tightly, having woken up when he felt her start to shake. He rolled her over and cradled her into his chest, stroking her hair. "It's ok sweetheart" he whispered to her. "Just let go, it's ok. I've got you and you're safe". Mac let herself go and sobbed again. Daryl continued to stroke her in calming movements, whispering to her that it was ok to let it out. After what seemed like hours to Mac, but was in fact only a few minutes, her tears ran dry. She stayed curled into Daryl's chest, taking the comfort he offered. Daryl just kept up his strokes, and she found herself calming down.

"Do you remember, after Rick and I brought you back to camp, and Carol finally let you out of the damn tent?" Mac didn't respond, and Daryl didn't wait for one. "After I got over the shock of finding you was a fucking girl, hehe, I thought for sure you were going to be a problem for us. I mean sure, you took down a shitload of walkers on your own while injured, but alls I could think of was, shit, another mouth to feed and another damn girl to get her cycle hooked into the rest of them. Like Lori being on the rag by herself wasn't bad 'nough, but I swear all you women did it at the same damn time and it was a fucking nightmare. I wanted nothing' more than to throw you out on your ass. I didn't trust ya. I was waitn' for some group of yours to come barreling in and try to wipe us out. But Carol, she liked ya. Seemed to trust ya. I trust Carol, she's got a good head on her shoulders, ever since that piece a shit husband of hers got himself bit. But even so, I was still leery. But then, that first time you saved my backside when I went down that stupid ravine. You really had no reason to, but you did. And from then on you started squirmn' ya way under my skin. You proved more times than I can count that Carol was right. You were a good fit for our group."

Daryl bent down and placed a soft kiss on Mac's head. "A good fit for me" he whispered.

"I found that I no longer thought of Rick first when it came to trusting someone. I mean sure I still trust him, but he was no longer the first that came to my mind. It was you. You became my partner - hunting, scouting, fighting. I never thought twice about you at my back, at my side. It never entered my mind that you would let me down. Still don't.

I began to feel like you were an extension of me. I found myself bein' more comfortable around other people, hell even around myself. And now, well now I can't imagine you not being here with me. You've made this redneck hillbilly a much better person. "

Daryl sighed. "We'll get through this. Together. I promise. And I won't take any shit about you being anywhere but at my side woman, you understand?"

He leaned his head down into her, an almost silent "I love you" leaving his lips. Mac heard those last three words and felt the tears come again. This time they were quiet, peaceful tears.

**A/N: Coming up next, Daryl and Mac try to make their way back home.**


End file.
